Washington, D.C. – Legislation authored by Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) to help law enforcement locate and rescue missing children was signed into law by President Obama. The Recovering Missing Children Act, which passed in both houses of Congress with bipartisan support, is endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as well as various law enforcement organizations.

 

While tax return filings can be used to solve other serious crimes, law enforcement doesn’t currently have access to this information in connection with missing children cases, making the task of locating the children more difficult for investigators. The Recovering Missing Children Act changes that and allows access, with a warrant, to this vital information.

 

“This new law will help reunite families by giving law enforcement the critical and necessary tools to fill the ‘information gap’ in missing and abducted children cases,” said Paulsen. “The Recovering Missing Children Act is a commonsense fix that will change the lives of children and families who face these scary and heartbreaking situations all across the country. I’m proud to have taken the lead on such an important issue and would like to thank my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for their support.”

 

Background: The Recovering Missing Children Act adds the case of a missing child to the current list of circumstances under which the IRS may release tax information to investigating authorities. Nearly 200,000 children are abducted by a relative or family member every year. In 46 percent of those cases, the relative files a tax return with the child’s Social Security Number or an address that could be used to locate the child.

Paulsen wrote a recent op-ed in the Star Tribune about the importance of the Recovering Missing Children Act.

Paulsen spoke on the House floor about his legislation last month as well.

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Congressman Paulsen’s work in Congress visit Paulsen.house.gov.

####